From pitch to pool to court to classroom, undergrads balance their athletic pursuits and scholarly endeavors
Balancing a love of competition with a call to higher learning presents a particular challenge for student athletes. Meet five undergraduates pursuing their intellectual interests while representing the Trojan Family in collegiate sports.
Jade Hannah | freshman – biochemistry; swimming
When did you fall in love with swimming? It started when I was a baby. My mum would take me to the beach in Bermuda and play with me in the ocean. Since then, she couldn’t keep me out of the water.
What are your interests outside of studies and athletics? I love to go on hikes. I’m a big movie buff and love having beach days. Oh, and trying new ice cream places!
What one thing about you would surprise your friends? Something my friends and teammates may not know about me is that I am Bermudian and Canadian. I was born in Bermuda and moved to Canada at the age of three.
What do you love most about Southern California? The thing I love most about Southern California is that it has everything: mountains, oceans, beaches, and a big city. Not many places can offer that kind of variety, but SoCal can!
Simi Awujo | freshman – neuroscience; soccer
Why did you choose your major? I chose neuroscience because I wanted to go to medical school and be a surgeon. But now I’m looking at other career paths and think I would like to major in computer science/business administration.
Pick one person — living, dead or fictional — to ask one question: I would ask Kobe Bryant what keeps him going when all else fails.
What one thing about you would surprise your friends? People would probably be surprised to know that I have an app that makes decisions for me because I’m very indecisive.
What do you love most about Southern California? I love the scenery. You can make a 30-minute drive (with traffic, of course) and end up in a completely different landscape than where you started.
Gabrielle Lee | sophomore – biochemistry; tennis
Why did you choose your major? I love chemistry and biology (science in general) and was very interested in the biological processes in the body.
What’s your favorite course so far? General chemistry with Dr. Hannah Reisler. She was amazing and made me realize how much I loved chemistry.
What are your interests outside of studies and athletics? I love to read and hang out with my friends. There is so much to do around USC, so recently, I’ve been to Santa Monica, hiked to the Hollywood sign, and to the beach.
Which teammate do you admire and why? My teammate Snow Han amazes me every day. She is absolutely killer at tennis and studies so hard. She is also a great teammate and is always in a great mood no matter what type of day she is having.
Paul Retterer | junior – English (creative writing); swimming
Why did you choose your major? I chose my major of creative writing because I love telling stories. I feel like there’s a hidden yet intrinsic truth to be uncovered in the stories we tell each other, and I love crafting them to unearth a deeper essence of the human experience.
Who is your favorite instructor so far? I have been blessed with an assortment of profoundly impactful professors during my collegiate experience. Kerry Ingram, Molly Bendall, Aimee Bender immediately come to mind, with the latter’s fiction class being the most transformative writing experience I’ve ever had.
What are your interests outside of studies and athletics? I am a huge movie nerd, stuffed to the brim with useless movie trivia. I am actually double minoring at SCA and am looking to go into the film industry. My favorite film is Blade Runner and my favorite movie is Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
What one thing about you would surprise your friends? I got my boating license three years before I got my driver’s license.
Which teammate do you admire and why? A teammate who I truly admire is Victor Johannson. Not only is he an Olympian and one of the fastest swimmers in the world, but he is also an exceptional human being. The past three years have been tumultuous for everyone; however, I don’t know if anyone has had as strenuous of a path or if anyone has embraced it with more optimism. Victor is a beacon of positivity and a really good friend.
Annika Christensen | senior – archaeology; rowing
When did you fall in love with rowing? I started rowing in 8th grade, but I think I fell in love with it my sophomore year of high school because that’s when it became a part of my identity as something I excelled at.
Why did you choose your major? I took AP art history in my junior year and really fell in love with interpreting art and symbolism. From there, I decided on archaeology because I love the idea of discovering things that haven’t been touched by humans for hundreds or thousands of years.
What’s your favorite course? My favorite class was definitely History 201 (“Approaches to History”) my freshman year. I took it as an elective because it was taught by Deborah Harkness (professor (teaching) of history), whose books my mom really likes. We got to create our own archive from random old documents our professor got off of eBay, and we got to use the reading room in special collections. It was so cool to interact with historical documents so closely, and it really helped ignite my passion for recording and preserving the past.
What are your interests outside of studies and athletics? I got to pick up the trumpet again after not playing for six years. I’m taking private lessons through Thornton (USC Thornton School of Music) for the last couple credits I need for graduation. I also really like thrifting and playing LEGO Star Wars on Wii.
Additional reporting by Crisann Begley-Smith.